Shade's Story
by Saerwen
Summary: Kel is serving as a squire to Lord Raoul. One day, Raoul hires someone named Shade. Shade is an odd girl with a past that nobody knows about. After spending time with Shade, Kel finds some information that shows that there is more to Shade than she though
1. Wake Up Call

Chapter 1: Wake Up Call

In her dream, Keladry of Mindelan was doing her practice dances with her birds around her. One of the birds landed on her nose and poked her.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed in a far-away voice, as if it weren't her own. The bird kept poking. "Stop.." Kel muttered half-heartedly.

Suddenly, it occurred to Kel that it might be a dream. She opened her eyes.

She was in her room at the palace of Conte. In the next room was her knight-master, Lord Raoul of Goldenlake and Malorie's Peak. A handful of tiny sparrows were perched on her stomach. One of them pecked her nose again.

"Alright, alright, I'm getting up," grumbled Kel. She got out of bed and went to her window, tripping over Jump in the process. She grumbled, rubbing her sore toe. Jump rolled over and continued to snore.

Complaining about dogs who slept too much, Kel opened her shutters. Outside, the air was brisk and cool. The sun had already topped the buildings of the city.

Kel blinked.

I must have slept longer than usual, she thought. Oh well, it doesn't really matter, I suppose.

Kel turned towards her bag to get dressed. Ever since she had started traveling with the King's Own, when hadn't bothered to unpack her bags when she got back to the palace from traveling. It was completely pointless, because she normally had to just repack the next day.

Kel pulled on a pair of loose, tan breeches from her bag and a cool, light blue tunic over a cream shirt. She wrestled on some comfortable leather boots. She didn't bother even trying to do anything with her short blond hair. It never stayed in its place long anyway.

After she was dressed, a loud rap came on the door between her room and her knight-master's. "Come in," Kel replied to the knock. Raoul stepped into her room, ducking under the doorframe.

"Ah, I see your up," Raoul said cheerily. "Not that I mind of course. I would have liked to let you sleep the entire day away, but that's just me."

Kel resisted the urge to ask the big man what he wanted, just to get it over with. She was feeling rather grumpy because of the growing ache in her toe.

Stupid dog, Kel thought, imagining horrible things to do to it when Raoul was gone.

Although Raoul couldn't read Kel's smooth expression, he knew that she was not in her best mood, and would like to know why he had come, and get the news over with as quickly as possible.

"Kel, I need you to come with me to see Jon," he confessed.

"King Jonathan, my lord?" asked Kel, wondering why in Mithros's name the King would want to see her.

"Yes," Raoul said gloomily. "He sent someone this morning to 'request' to see us this morning. Both of us."

Kel sighed, rubbing her head. This was her first day back in the Palace from a cleanup of a bandit raid. She had wanted to spend the day in relaxation, not jabbering with royalty.

"I know you'd rather spend the day with your friends Kel, but we have to go," Raoul said apologetically. "Plus," his teeth flashed wickedly. "I don't think we have much of a choice."

"I know, my lord," Kel said, wondering what would happen if she refused to come.

Raoul smiled. "Now that's my squire. Okay, you go have breakfast now and meet me back here at the next bell, alright?"

Kel nodded, incredibly unenthusiastic.

"Right then, off you go," Raoul said, his happy mode resumed.

Kel opened the door and walked down the corridor to the breakfast room, thinking horrible things about monarchs who ordered people around and dogs that hurt squire's toes.

TO BE CONTINUED

Hey everyone! This is the new RurouniMarion, RurouniMarionu. I'm not sure why, but stupid fanfiction kicked me off... Sorry that the chapter is so short. If I continued any more, it would be like 25 pages long... Not literally, of course. Hehe. Newayz, R&R!!!! Tell me how you liked it.


	2. Rushing

Chapter 2

Kel went down the breakfast line, putting everything she wanted on her plate. She chose and apple and a few biscuits, and milk. Once she was finished, she wandered over to the squire table and sat down with Neal, Cleon, and Merric. Seaver was somewhere around, as was Raold.

Kel glanced briefly at her Neal's plate. It was piled high with pastries. Kel rolled her eyes. She couldn't say she was surprised.

Lord Wyldon stiffly walked into the room. The squires and pages quickly rose to their feet. "May Mithros guide us, and bless us in all we do," Wyldon said in his booming voice, then lowered his hands.

"So mote it be," the boys and Kel said out of sync, not expecting the short prayer. They sat with the scraping of chairs on the hard floor.

"What do you think is up with the Stump?" Merric asked. "I think that was the shortest praise he's ever given. And it didn't even have any implied insults in it…"

"Donno," Neal said through a mouthful of a glazed doughnut. About to take another bite, he found that an apple was in his hand.

"Neal, eat something _good_ for a change, will you?" Kel asked Neal wrinkled his nose, but took a tiny bite out of the apple that Kel had given him. Cleon and Merric snickered.

Kel continued eating, Neal continued making faces at the apple, and the rest of the squires at the table continued making fun of Neal.

A loud bell rang throughout the halls, startling everyone who wasn't used to it, which was only some of the first year pages.

Kel stood up suddenly, knocking her chair backwards and jarring her bruised toe.

"Where are you going Kel?" Neal asked, taking the moment of confusion to ditch his apple and take a large bite out of a pastry. "We were going to do some stuff today, weren't we?" he mumbled, his mouth full.

"I'm sorry, I've got to meet Lord Raoul," Kel said, rushed.

Neal shrugged. "Alright then," he said. "But can you please find us again when you're done?"

Kel nodded and scurried out of the room. She walked quickly down the hall until she was around the corner, when she broke into a flat out run.

I can't be late! she thought. Ahh, why didn't I just leave earlier??

Kel dashed up a stairway and down a few corridors when she finally got to Raoul's room. The girl stopped to catch her breath. She smoothed her rumpled tunic and windblown hair. She leaned against the door, breathing hard.

The door opened and Kel fell sideways into the room. Raoul looked down at his squire as she lay, sprawled, on the floor.

"So glad you could join us Kel," Raoul said, suppressing a laugh.

Kel sat up, embarrassed, and found that not only was her knight-master laughing at her, but the king of Tortall was too.

Kel stood and bowed, even more embarrassed now than she had been.

King Jonathan smiled. "Sit, sit, both of you," he said. Raoul sat gratefully in one of the chairs while Kel perched hesitantly on the arm of a chair. Raoul rolled (haha, that sounds funny) his eyes and pushed her all of the way down.

Once the two were "settled" (Kel was scowling at her knight-master and Raoul was cheerfully ignoring the glare) the king spoke.

"Raoul, I have a favor to ask of you," he said.

"I'm not accepting or even considering another one of your crack-brained patrols," Raoul replied flatly.

The king snorted. "No, don't worry, it's nothing like that," he said.

"Alright then, what?" Raoul asked. "And that doesn't mean yes Jon," he cautioned.

"Well, um… it's… uhhh…" the king struggled to find the right words.

"It's me," came a voice from the shadows of the room.

The king chuckled, glad for a break in his "speech". "Spying again, are we smalling?" he asked.

The voice sighed and a young girl stepped into the light.

TO BE CONTINUED!!

Hello all!! Sorry, I took absolutely forever to edit this chapter, and I didn't even change much, now did I? Eh, I'm lazy. . REVIEW!! kitty eyes pwease?? Heheheheheehehe.


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